Explosive and process of making same



E. OTT.

EXPLOSIVE AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION man MAY 25. 1920.

1,390,37 PatentedSgpt. 13,1921.

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"UNITED STATES ERWIN '11, 01 BASEL, SWITZEIbLAND, ASSIGNOR TO PROF. DR. EDWIN HALN'ION FAUST, OF BASEL, SWITZERLAND.

EXPLOSIVE PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

To all whom it ma concern:

Be it known that ERWIN O'r'r, a citizen of the German Republic, and resident of Basel, Switzerland, have invented a new and useful Explosive and a Process of Making Same, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

I have found that by acting with aqueous solutions of sodium azid on cyanure halogenids, there is obtained a new organic compound, the cyanure triazid, corresponding to'the formula Witti. N N

which owing to its strongly explosive properties is capable of being used as an exploslve.

The cyanure triazid constitutes in a ure state colorless crystals melting at 94 is not volatile, is not changed by cold water, but is saponified slowly by hot water and explodes when it is subjected to-violent concussion or heated to 170 C., or heated suddenly.

The cyanure triazid is an explosive substance particularly able of bein employed as a priming agent. It is not poisonous, resistant to moistness and to light, does not attack metals, is superior as priming agent to pure fulminating mercury, prepared fulminating mercury, lead azid and silver azid, is better adapted for the preparation of Flobert ammunition and ammunition for other small fire arms than fulminating mercury and lead azid and forms in the molten state an excellent solvent for the most organic substances usually employed as explosives for grenade loadings,

torpedoes etc. and can therefore be added to the same.

The preparation of the triazid is preferably carried out by-acting' with an excess of sodium azid in an aqueous solution, in the cold, on cyanure chlorid gradually suspended in the said solution.

' The invention is illustrated by the following examples: v

- Ewample'1.-6.2 gr. of finely pulverized Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 13, 1921. Application filed ma 25, 1920. Serial No. 384,208.

with water and dried in the air. The yield of the raw product showing a constant weight, is of 5.68 gr. or 83.5 per cent. of the theory, The raw product can be employed directly, it contains about 80 per cent. of

pure triazid.

If in this example instead of 7 gr. of sodium azid there are employed 910 gr. of the same body for the same quantity of 6.2 gr. of cyanure chlorid, the yield arises to 6.2 gr. or 91 per cent. of the theory and the raw product obtained is accordingly of a higher Value.

If the raw product prepared, as desci'ibed, I

from 6.2 gr. of cyanure chlorid and 7 gr. of sodium azid is, after it has been washed and before it has been dried, introduced into a fresh solution of 2-3 gr. of sodium azid in 20 ccm. water and left in contact with the said solution for several hours in the cold, there results a yield of 6.3 gr. of raw product or 92.6 per cent. of the theory.

All these raw products give chemically pure triazid C N by a single crystallization from a small quantity of boiling alcohol, in which the cyanure triazid is readily soluble, when hot, but difiicultly soluble when cold.

From the mother-liquors resulting from the preparations the sodium azid employed in excess can be recovered in a pure state and without loss by acidifying the said liquors with the necessary quantity of dilute acids, distilling oil the aqueous azoimid,collectin hereby only a small quantity of the first raction of the distillate and evaporating it, after neutralization with soda lye (caustic soda).

"It is consequently possible to transform,

accordin to this process, cyanure chlorid with so 111m azid, without any loss of sodium azid, into cyanure triazid C',N with yields of over 90 per cent. of the theory.

The chemically pure cyanure triazid C N, constitutes colorless crystals melting at 94 C. and is not volatile. It is not affected by cold water and only slowly'saponified by hot water. It is relatively insensitive to friction and not too strong concussion, but explodes by impact, or when heated to 170 C. or when heated suddenly. It is not more sensitive to frictions and shocks than fulminating mercury.

By its explosion, it acts on other explosives, particularly such which explode; dif-' ficultly, its priming action surpassing those of all hitherto known priming agents. In comparision with these latter it has, besides the complete absence of heavy or precious metals, a great number of essential advantages, namely:

(1) It is not poisonous in contradistinction to fulminating mercury-and lead azid.

(2) It is not sensitive, that is to say not affected by moisture in contradistinction to fulminating mercury.

(3) It is resistant to and not changed by light in contradistinction to lead azid and to silver azid.

(4:) There is no danger of reaction with a metal of the material of the detonator casing or capsule-shell, as is the'case with lead azid which forms dangerous metal compounds, as for instanceCuN according to the formula PbN,+Cu=CuN -}-Pb.

(5) In contradistinction to the hitherto employed priming agents it is fusible and its fusion point (94 C.) is so .low that the product melted by a single heating on water or steam bath, can be poured without danger in the capsule shell. It solidifies therein after cooling and shows the density (specific weight) of 1.5.

(6) The superiority of the cyanure triazid over the fulminating mercury as well in a pure as in a commercial state, and over the lead and silver azids is explained by the following example:

Ewample a.1 gr. of trinitrotoluene is melted in a copper capsule shell No. 8 and forms therein after solidifying a column of an average height of 20.5 mm. If 0.3 gr. of cyanure triazid are set thereon and the bursting capsule fired on a lead plate, the trinitrotoluene will explode entirely. None of the other priming agents can produce such a complete explosion of an analogous column of trinitrotoluene, even when set thereon in quantities up to 1 gr. Only with prepared commercial fulminating mercury applied in a quantity of at least 1 gr., the above entire column of 'trinitrotoluene begi-ns to explode completely.

In all other cases, particularly when employing smaller quantities of the priming agent, residues or remainders of'the trinitrotoluene column could be measured with a slide-gage and from the difference between these remainders and the original height of 205mm. of the column the height of the exploded trinitrotoluene column may be calculated.

The entry of these heights on the ordinates of a system of coordinates, while the quantities of priming agents are marked on the abscisses, permits of showing graphically the priming actions of the priming agents employed, as shown in the accompanying diagram.

Example b.-.A cartridge, lying free and not inclosed, containing an explosive load of 94: gr. of ammonium nitrate sieved through a sieve having 3600 meshes per square centimeter and of 6 gr. of colophony is exploded completely by 1 gr. of cyanure triazid poured in a melted condition into a copper capsule-shell No. 8 and left solidify therein, in analogous manner as by 1 gr. of prepared fulminating mercury.

If 0110.5 gr. of trinitrotoluene poured in a melted condition into a copper capsuleshell No. 8 and left solidify therein, there are set only 0.5 gr. of triazid, this detonating composition will produce in the same manner the entire explosion of the above specified cartridge containing 100 gr. of explosive substances.

(7) In contradistinction to the other priming agents cyanure triazid is an excellent solvent for most or anic substances particularly for all aliphatic and aromatic nitro-compounds, which are usually added for various purposes, for instance to grenade charges, torpedoes etc., for increasing the sensitiveness or for increasing the explosive efiect.

Trinitrotoluene and triazid can be mixed in any proportion in a molten state and do not separate again by cooling. Also many salts of organic acids are considerably soluble in molten triazid; for instance lead picrate dissolves in molten triazid up to 20 per cent. and does not separate again on solidification.

(8) It has been determined that the cyanure triazid in spite of its very much higher priming actions, is much less brisant than fulminating mercury and lead nitrid and is therefore more appropriate for the manufacture of F lobert ammunition and of ammunition for other small fire-arms than. both these latter substances.

What claim is:

1. The herein described process for the manufacture of cyanure triazid, consisting in treating aqueous solutions of sodium azid with a cyanure halogenid.

2. As a new explosive particularly capable of employed as a priming agent,

the herein described cyanure triazid corresponding to the formula onous, resistant to moistness and to light,

not attacking metals, being superior, as priming agent, to pure fulminating mercury, prepared fulminating mercury, lead azid and silver azid, being more appropriate for the preparation of Flobert ammunition and of ammunition for other small fire-arms than fulminating mercury and lead azid and being in the molten state an excellent solvent for the most organic substances usually employed for grenade loadings, torpedoes etc., and being therefore capable of being added to the same.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 7th day of May 1920, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERWIN OTT.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. LORD, AMAND BITTER. 

